The county board of elections is interested in an optical ballot scanner.

BRIDGETON — There are some changes coming to the county’s Board of Elections, in both their tools of the trade and possibly board members.

Administrator Lizbeth Hernandez said Monday morning that her department aims to acquire a new mail-in ballot scanner, to be used in the coming November election.

“The fact that there’s an increase of so many mail-in ballots, the board decided to use this machine,” Hernandez said when asked what brought this about.

The scanner would replace the hand-count method of sorting through absentee ballots at a cost of around $50,000. Hernandez said the “one machine processing ballots” would be an “upgrade to what we currently have.”

To accompany this machine, the style of the ballot will also be changed so it can be read, she added. These “optical scan ballots” — confirmed by the county clerk’s office last week — would also increase the cost of elections.

In dealing with a vote-by-mail ballot issue back in December, Gloucester County Clerk James Hogan cited a vendor’s estimate of $180,000 for installing three scanners. Union County introduced the scanners there in July 2009, which are “less apt to make an error,” the county clerk’s office there stated at the time.

Locally, disputed results from Primary Election Day in Fairfield Township last summer caused a court to order a new election. In return, two candidates asked their supporters to vote solely with mail-in ballots — though parties involved couldn’t offer comment Monday as to the outcome of this latest change.

Regarding board members here, Hernandez said former chairman Ned Sawyers, a Republican representing Vineland, has retired. His term expired this March.

She was “unsure” if board member John Bunting, a Democrat representing Bridgeton, would stay. His term is also set to expire this month.

Current members include Secretary Nancy Sungenis, who could not be reached for comment Monday, and Bonnie Facemyer, who did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.